Rapper G Herbo recently teamed up with a few of his famous Chicago friends to give back to the community where he grew up.
On Saturday, Sept. 19, the “Stress Relief” rapper, along with Grammy award-winner Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, Joey Purp, and several others co-sponsored the Year of the Youth peace walk and community give-back event. The occasion, which took place in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, consisted of a march through the South Side and plenty of giveaways.
Following a pre-walk dance party, roughly 100 people chanted as they marched through the streets. Organizers brought out about two dozen children up front to lead the final stretch of the demonstration.
Shortly afterward, the four artists and many volunteers from Chance’s SocialWorks and Mensa’s Save Money, Save Life Foundation, handed out over 2,000 backpacks filled with school supplies outside Overton Elementary School — where G Herbo, whose real name is Herbert Wright III, was a former student. There were also tents set up for free COVID-19 and HIV testing and a voter registration section.
Overton Elementary closed its doors for good in 2013, which left many residents, including G Herbo, heartbroken. By 2018 the “PTSD” rapper had become a partner with a local developer who bought the school, and their plan is to transform it into a media lab and music incubator, according to the Chicago Reader.
When questioned about his goal behind the giveaway annual event, the rapper said, “This is just about being able to lead by example for the next generation.” He added, “We’re really just trying to change the narrative and lead by example … and show the next generation that they can do what we’re doing even greater. We’re not saying we’re going to see drastic change tomorrow, but if we keep this up, there’s limitless opportunities, and it’s limitless where we can go.”
A local Chicago photographer who goes by @vashon_photo on Instagram captured moments from the event that weekend and shared several snaps of G Herbo spending time with residents of the community. “On Saturday, the 24y/o spent the afternoon at the #YearoftheYouth giveback engaging with residents in Bronzeville,” the Chicago photographer captioned the gallery of photos.
Fans applauded the hip-hop star on his efforts and flooded his Instagram comments section with thank-you’s, including one fan who wrote, “❤️The smile on your face while you passed out the bags to the children is priceless. It shows the human side of you, and I’m here for all of it! Continue to make the hood great again, and tell your friends too!”
